Category: Economy / Trends

Tenders have now been submitted for Stage 2 of the Caydon Property Group‘s redevelopment of one of Melbourne’s timeless icons, the Nylex clock.  Down by the Yarra River in Richmond,...

As measures to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus in China (and abroad) remain fluid and changing, the full impact on Australia’s imports and exports remain to be fully realized....

The race is tight as news emerges of projections that the Sydney Light Rail project cost has blown-out to $2.9Bn and the Melbourne Metro is already $300m over budget and...

Big Data = Big Questions for the Engineering and Construction Industry An extract from a white paper by Jay Snyder, Alyssa Menard and Natalie Spare, published by FMI, a leading...

Subscribers to The Construction Advisor Quarterly Plus get more than just 4 x journals a year…

An innovative bus shelter that can use vibration and sound to inform passengers of an approaching bus has won the top prize in a design challenge that explores the future...

“Ask anyone from a Grade Sep who’s worked 14+hour days, in tight corridors, with ongoing design issues, in bad weather conditions, about how

A renewed increase in new house-building orders is underpinning growth in the eurozone’s construction sector, though commercial work and civil engineering continue to decline. There has been a record rise...

The $2.81 billion Sydney Metro City & Southwest Tunnel and Station Excavation Works (TSE) contr

There are reports today that Woodside will postpone making any decisions relating to its $47Bn development pipeline in the NorthWest given uncertainty around oil and gas prices. The energy major...

Turner & Townsend’s International construction market survey 2021 has now been published.  Now in its 12th year, this latest International construction market survey brings together data and knowledge from 90...

The process to select the builder and the modular contractor for Victoria’s first purpose-built COVID quarantine accommodation facility is underway. The Victorian Government has issued a call for expressions of...

The New South Wales Government has granted planning approval for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project, with major construction to commence soon. Early works started on Sydney Metro...

The tender process for the North East Link Project is in disarray after bombshell announcements in the space of 24 hours. On Friday, the CPB led consortium (Onelink) admitted to...

What Railway Line are you

Infrastructure Australia has today published its first Infrastructure Market Capacity report, forecasting a surge in demand for skills, labour and materials due to the rapid increase in public infrastructure investment. The Infrastructure Market...

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has published scientific evidence designed to remove any doubt that human actions are contributing to climate change and human actions, particularly in...

Iconic developer Grocon has announced that it is entering administration. Following weeks of media speculation, the company attributes its decision to a stoush with Infrastructure NSW over its planned development...

Rio Tinto have partnered with leading sustainable construction materials company Lafarge Canada to create a cement product using waste from aluminium smelting. Known as Alextra, it’s made from waste –...

With Australia’s economy now shifting strongly from recovery to expansion as a result of a recovery in housing construction in early 2021 the construction sector is poised to expand significantly...

The Marshall Government in South Australia has announced plans to deliver $12.9Bn in infrastructure spending including $8.8Bn in near-term projects over 4 years. It is a welcome boost to the...

The Federal Government has announced the introduction of a ban on the export of mixed plastic waste exports. The ban will end the export of 75,000 tonnes of mixed plastic...

The waters off Gippsland would be home to Australia's first offshore wind farm under a radical proposal for as many as 250 turbines generating enou

Bricklayers are the most in demand tradies as the building boom continues to sap the supply of skilled workers and materials. The HIA Trades Availability Index deteriorated further in the...

Crane numbers have lifted by 4 per cent across the country as construction continues to pick up with easing pandemic restrictions allowing more onsite work. The number of cranes across...

Tradies from the southern states are flocking to Queensland in record numbers as skills shortages hit the construction industry. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has had its biggest jump in licensee...

Lendlease has this week finalised the sale of its engineering arm to Acciona Infrastructure Asia Pacific. The sale has been a long time coming – first heralded back in 2019....

Forget the Melbourne-Sydney rivalry: a rapid transport link betwe

After weathering the coronavirus storm relatively well, avoiding the most severe industry restrictions, the short-term future of construction is starting to look bleak. Following a 5.3% fall in construction industry...

Data produced by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia is warning of a slump in infrastructure approvals during the pandemic. The report suggests that only $6.7Bn in projects have been approved in the...

  The $135 million project will relieve traffic pressure by connecting South Gippsland Highway to Abbotts Road at Dandenong South. The scope of the project also includes improving access to...

Warren Buffett is forging further into modular construction, leveraging the Berkshire Hathaway-owned MiTek engineered building products and construction software firm to launch a hybrid offsite-on site building model targeted at...

Now in its second year, the Construction Advisor Quarterly is still delivering the best industry insights and best of all this edition is FREE! Project lists, the latest ABS data, forecasts...

720,000 sqm of additional Sydney logistics space will be needed just to meet soaring e-commerce sales, according to CBRE’s latest research. CBRE’s new Sydney Industrial & Logistics Land Supply report...

The Victorian State Government will invest $500k over three years to boost the number of women in construction in the state. The money will be spent on a new online...

September 1st 2020 sees the new Residential Apartment Buildings Act take effect in NSW. Drafted in the wake of the structural building issues identified in 2018/19 the Act is the...

The SA government is investing close to $3 billion to fix 4,800km of roads, aiming to give locals a smoother and safer journey. The 2021-22 State Budget allocated around $790...

Worksites are busy, complex and dynamic environments. Safety, productivity and quality monitoring requires continuous presence of supervisors on site. Researchers at Monash University have filed a patent for new technology...

New grants are open for construction projects that want to reuse waste materials, such as glass or plastic, to help create a circular economy. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)...

A day after announcing that it had booked between $1.7bn-$1.9bn for selling a 50% stake in Thiess Mining Services, CIMIC Group has today announced that it has failed to claw-back...

Mid-tier equipment rental company Orange Hire is ringing the bell to test the market for a buyer in a pitch led by Greenstone Partners. AFR reports the company holds a...

Fast rail has been on many wish lists in the past, but it is possible it could become a reality. Co-founder of The Demographics Group, Simon Kuestenmacher, believes that foreign...

Submissions are now open for the Victorian State Government review of the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 with serious implications for the construction industry and its suppliers. The statement headline reads:...

Global demand for critical building materials could bring Australia’s residential construction industry to its knees, according to data compiled by Grafa. Australian builders have been left without their most critical...

Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria have had a major impact on the construction sector with up to 13,000 jobs lost in the sector between July and August. Stage 4 includes...

A report from the University of NSW published in 2017 that is still very relevant today. Some of the off-putting factors are just as detrimental to men In Australia, women...

1. Dog breeds are different in terms of their natural strengths and weaknesses, and eve

A swathe of new developments in Western Australia has prompted questions about whether the state is shedding its penchant for NIMBYism once and for all. NIMBY, or “not in my...

Spanish construction giant Acciona have today confirmed that they will acquire the engineering arm of Lendlease which has been on the market for some time now. Excluded from the deal...

A new report into the construction industry highlights that urgent change is needed to address cultural issues that are costing the economy nearly $8 billion each year due to workplace...

International construction giant Multiplex has won the tender to build a new modular 1,000-bed quarantine facility at Mickleham, Melbourne. Construction is scheduled to begin on The Centre for National Resilience...

Following the tender for the $492 million mental health facilities project to be delivered by the Victorian Health Building Authority, Lendlease Building have been appointed as head contractors. The designs...

Downer Group has today launched a $400m equity raising on the back of a $156m full year net loss. Like moving pieces on a chess-board, the company will book a...

From carpentry to electrical work, painting to working with sheet metal, 7th through 12th grade girls in the US are learning it all hands-on at a unique summer camp in...

The Community Consultation Report has been released and tenders called for the $275 million upgrade of 1 km of the Nelson Bay Road from Salt Ash to Bobs Farm, NSW. ...

‘Phoenixing’ has long been a concern in commerce with construction particularly synonymous with its use. The practice essentially is winding up a company to avoid paying creditors (including staff entitlements)...

Researchers from the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have published a new concept for rechargeable batteries made of cement. Dr Emma Zhang...

Lendlease will eliminate all use of liquid fossil fuels on its U.K. construction sites, the company announced. After two successful pilots at the Glen Parva prison and Manchester Town Hall...

The tender process has started to find an operator for the new metro railway line that will service Greater Western Sydney and the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport....

1.       Keep the focus on infrastructure projects Shovel-ready projects are a priority because construction is a labour-intensive sector that, if prioritised, can ameliorate the severe drop in consumer demand caused...

Quarterly Subscribers Are Already Looking to 2020.

The Australian Human Rights Institute has released a new report – Building an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace: a blueprint for Australia’s construction industry – which has found that despite improvements in Australian...

Construction is now underway on a recycling facility in Albury-Wodonga that will see the equivalent of one billion PET plastic bottles recycled each year. Environment Minister and Federal Farrer Member...

Following the collapse of apartment builders Ralan Group and Stellar in 2019 another scalp has been taken in Melbourne based developer Verve Constructions. Verve was currently in various stages of...

The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) has announced that 10 more level crossings will be removed by 2025, bringing the total to 85 removed altogether. Level crossings will be removed...

The construction industry is bracing for what the future may hold as social restrictions expand in the effort to fight the coronavirus spread. In the early days of the virus...

There has been a 300% increase in applications for renewable energy development in Victoria over the last four years, and it is anticipated that the interest will remain high, leading...

The commercial construction sector is facing a devastating downturn due to the impact of COVID-19 unless governments act to provide stimulus. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said, “Commercial...

As the industry attempts to digest what stage 4 lockdown restrictions will mean, fears are growing around litigation linked to project delays. There is no doubt that there will be...

Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon (WBHO) the South-African owned constructor has announced that the proposed sale of its Australian building arm Probuild has been blocked based on national security risks. The...

Lendlease Europe have set themselves the task of becoming a 1.5°C aligned company. To do this, they will need to meet the following targets: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions...

Brisbane’s inner eastern suburb of Woolloongabba has been named Australia’s best location for residential investment as the nation emerges from the pandemic. Research commissioned by ME Bank revealed the top...

The cost of infrastructure construction is set to rise 23% over the next five years, according to latest industry forecasts in the UK. Arcadis’ latest Spring 2021 Market View, entitled...

A group of international researchers has shown that the unique skeletal structure of a deep-sea sponge can inspire the design of future skyscrapers. In an article published in Nature today, researchers show...

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has today announced the shutdown measures that will apply to business in the state under Stage 4 Lockdown. For the first time, construction has not escaped...

After a long courtship, NRW has confirmed that it has acquired 100% of BGC Contracting (excluding the building arm). The deal was done on an equity value of $116.4m with...

The Federal Government is continuing to support the economy, which is still trying to cope with the long term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One initiative is to prioritise the...

The NSW government has unveiled plans for a significant redesign of Blackwattle Bay, shifting the S

Spark, a consortium comprising WeBuild, GS Engineering and Construction, CPB Contractors, China Construction Oceania, Ventia, Capella Capital, John Laing Investments, DIF and Pacific Partnerships, has been selected as the preferred...

Since 2014, when Daniel Andrews became Premier of Victoria, the pipeline of infrastructure projects over the next 11 years has nearly doubled to almost 90, costing taxpayers a total of...

The Victorian government has announced that it will be putting over $100 million towards a brand new football complex at LaTrobe University’s Bundoora Sports Park.  The complex will be the...

Latest Gold Coast housing market insights reveals the city’s property prices have increased by nearly $400 a day in the past year—jumping by more than 30 per cent in some...

A site in West Dunbartonshire has been chosen for construction of a plant that will produce hydrogen from waste plastic. Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, will use technology from...

The October edition of the Quarterly is now available for download! In uncertain times, good data and insights are imperative in driving decision making. We bring you all of the...

The latest IDC InfoBrief report – Road to Recovery: Overcoming COVID-19’s Impact on the Construction Industry with Digital Technologies – has been released. New research shows that 30% of Australian and...

Major changes to New Zealand’s building laws have come into force to speed up the supply of housing. Building and construction minister Poto Williams said that the new laws will...

NHS Share Business Services in the UK has opened the next generation of its modular buildings framework. NHS Shared Business Services is a joint venture between the UK’s Department of...

Victoria’s Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) has released new, free resources for property managers and owners’ corporations to help improve recycling in multi-unit developments (MUDs). According to a...

Construction Advisor is pleased to announce the launch of our new monthly report Industry Insights. Each month, we bring you all of the latest news, data and trends as well...

There is no doubt that the Construction Industry and its suppliers have felt a winter chill of late with many reporting poor revenues and frustrating delays. One needs to look...

In April this year, the $507 million contract was awarded to an alliance between Acciona, Coleman Rail, Metro Trains Melbourne and LXRP to remove the level crossings at Neerim Road...

CIMIC Group has announced a remarkably unremarkable set of results with 1Q NPAT of $166m on Revenue of $3.3Bn. Revenues were largely stable compared with $3.4Bn in 1Q19. Despite the...

Construction’s post-Covid recovery now looks to be over. The output graphs show, unsurprisingly a near vertical decline with the arrival of Covid-19 virus in the UK in early 2020 and...

The Victorian State Government today announced that it will roll-back bans on onshore gas exploration from 2021 angering some environmental groups. The ban on fracking and Coal Seam Gas (CSG)...

Veris Australia has been awarded a $2.5 million contract to assist in the delivery of the Sydney Metro southwest upgrade. As part of the contract, Veris will provide surveying services...

Located in inner Melbourne, on the banks of Merri Creek in Northcote, The Wilds is a collection of 15 carbon-neutral homes delivered by Melbourne property developer, Beulah and designed by...

With the infrastructure boom set to fuel global economic growth over the next decade, the construction industry must address the mounting pressures associated with climate change and the race to...

What’s on the cards for SA investment? 1. Completion of the North-South road corridor through metropolitan Adelaide 2. A grain/minerals port on Eyre Peninsula 3. The GlobeLink upgrade of major...

Energy major Woodside has announced that it has deferred up to $50Bn in in expansion plans amid the market turmoil. Key projects put on ice include the $17Bn Scarborough and...

The Caboolture Hospital redevelopment  project, considered to be a critical health infrastructure project, will increase the hospital’s bed count and provide a modern facility with new specialist healthcare services, to...

The Victorian Government has announced today that CPB Contractors, John Holland and Laing O’Rourke have been shortlisted to building Stage One of the Suburban Rail Loop. Works will include construction...

As we reported early in February, the coronavirus has started to impact on construction supply chains with everything from structural steel, joinery, facades to finishings and fittings facing delays. The...

Lendlease has started construction on a $16 million family-friendly tavern at Yarrabilba, Brisbane, as part of an $11 billion master-planned community Lendlease in planning for, consisting of a 100+ hectare...

On the back of the Swinburne study that identified significant issues with mental and lifestyle challenges in the construction industry, another university-backed study has shone a damning light on health...

Major equipment rental supplier Onsite Rental Group is going back to market looking for some fresh cash. Following a failed IPO in 2019, debt-for-equity swap in 2017 and a number...

NSW has appointed industry veteran David Chandler as the inaugural building commissioner in the first step to addressing the public’s concerns with the industry. Mr Chandler is an Adjunct Professor...

Melbourne Airport Rail has broken the Airport Rail Link project in six major packages. The six major works packages proposed to deliver the project are: Airport Station Package Viaduct Package...

The winds of change appear to be sweeping across property prices as the first capital city in Australia records a drop in monthly values—and experts predict there will be more...

Construction Materials Supplier Adelaide Brighton has delivered its 2019 results largely in line with market expectations but flagged concerns for the near term. Revenues were down 7% year on year...

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has issued a high alert for construction companies and their customers in Australia. The ACSC has reported in the past six months there has been...

SA Structural, a significant manufacturer of structural steel has entered administration. The company supplied to mining, infrastructure, non-residential and commercial builders. One major project expected to be impacted is the...

British Petroleum (BP) has announced that it will shut its Kwinana refinery after 65 years of operations. At this point, Kwinana is Australia’s largest refinery operation processing up to 150k...

The UK’s Network Rail has developed a new footbridge design, made from plastic and quicker to install. Network Rail says that the innovative circular bridge is set to ‘revolutionise’ the...

In welcome news for the local building industry which has been sweating on disrupted supply chains and falling material stock, Bluescope Steel has announced that its China operations are back...

CIMIC Group has today announced that it has sold down 50% of Thiess mining services through Elliot Advisors (UK). The stake is valued at between $1.7-$1.9bn giving the Thiess entity...

Cash may be king but cash-flow is the lifeblood of business – particularly small business. Payment terms have long been a concern for suppliers as different customers offer settlement on...

Last week’s Federal Budget included two big wins for the Construction industry. Firstly, the announcement of an additional $15.2 billion for infrastructure projects across the country. The other win was...

Western Sydney and Brisbane apartment developer Dyldam is taking on water with reports that the company is struggling with debt as receivers repossess a number of development sites. Problems within...

Infrastructure Australia (IA) is calling for submissions to the February 2022 publication of the Infrastructure Priority List, having recently announced a major refresh of its Assessment Framework. Infrastructure Australia makes...

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things, including young people’s aspirations. According to a new survey, more than a third of 16- to 21-year-olds are less likely to choose a university...

To understand what is happening to Australian house prices, it is important not to view Australia in isolation, but to also understand the global trends currently affecting world real estate....

The UK’s Construction Industry’s first industry-wide flexible working study has found that it leads to soaring wellbeing and could help crack recruitment difficulties. Construction companies are being encouraged to adopt...

Roads Australia (RA) and the Australian Railway Association (ARA) have submitted a joint submission to Federal Parliament, hoping for an update to the Priority Skilled Occupations List. Both RA and...

Roads Australia (RA) has released the latest iteration of its three-year rolling Strategic Plan, outlining how it will bring industry, government and communities together – leading progress in Australia’s roads, integrated transport...

The AFR is today reporting that the sale process of BGC Contracting is entering its final stages with a number of parties involved in due diligence. Macquarie Capital is reportedly hosting...

Governments around the world are looking to the construction industry to build themselves out of the pandemic. This has led to a shortage in supplies required to fuel the boom,...

A recent report released by the Grattan Institute states that Australian taxpayers are paying more than they should for infrastructure megaprojects. The ‘Megabang for megabucks: driving a harder bargain on...

Experts weigh in on the factors that made construction a profession for “someone else’s kid,” and the long road ahead to fix it. A four-decade veteran of the construction industry,...

In a sector that has seen its development pipeline slashed on the back of the RCR collapse and uncertainty on policy and commercial terms, news that AEMO has been intervening...

The Andrews Labor Government is ensuring the right infrastructure is in place to support a new community in Melbourne’s south east – including thousands of new homes, four new schools and 22 MCG’s worth of...

The May 2021 budget has allocated over $70 million for new recycling and waste management infrastructure, not only to minimise the environmental impact of waste, but also to create jobs...

One of the largest suppliers of concrete and cement products in the country has announced a second profit downgrade in three months and scrapped its interim dividend leading to its...

US president Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators have agreed a US$550 (£395bn) deal to make the country’s biggest investment in infrastructure in nearly a century. The deal...

The Age is today reporting that State Treasurer Tim Pallas is prepared to walk away from the PPP tender process and have the State Government build the freeway itself. The...

Concrete sea wall and armour units that are designed to be hospitable to marine life are to be tested at a Spanish port following the award of EU funding. ECOncrete...

The AFR is today reporting that storage container company Royal Wolf Holdings is back on the market seeking upwards of $300m. Owner GFN Asia Pacific is sounding out PE buyers...

A San Francisco-based startup has made robots on the jobsite a reality in the form of a drywall taping and finishing machine that combines a 17-foot-high scissor lift with a...

Building activity has surged by 23.2 per cent in the three months to June, the highest quarter of building activity in four decades. Work began on almost 65,000 dwellings during...

Victorians will need to continue to embrace new ways of living and working in the face of significant technological and environmental disruption, according to Infrastructure Victoria’s draft 30-year strategy released in December...

An increasing number of job seekers are open to something new. The trouble is, few are likely to set their sights on construction. In America skilled trade companies are desperate...